


One That Would Never End

by Pretzelrosecoloredglasses



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, New Rome, Post-Canon, post HOO
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 12:34:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17808050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pretzelrosecoloredglasses/pseuds/Pretzelrosecoloredglasses
Summary: No longer a one-shot! Probably not going to be a full story... Percy and Annabeth enjoying a normal-ish day while studying in New Rome. Percy and Annabeth are trying to figure out their lives while being happy and well-adjusted. AKA the epilogue that wasn't in BoO.





	One That Would Never End

**Author's Note:**

> Woah! I've been mostly out of the PJO fandom for a while, but I found this story and it made me miss home enough to give it an editing pass. I haven't read anything past BoO, so apologies if this conflicts with cannon. I know Percy and Annabeth still cameo sometimes, but I like to pretend they lived happily and somewhat normally after the events of HoO. 
> 
> I probably won't go any farther with this fic, since it's meant to be Percy and Annabeth's happy ending, but if I get a comment with a really exciting idea, I might go with it. I love an excuse to write about California.

The sun hung low over the horizon, painting the valley in the soft orange and pink of a peaceful evening. A small, car-less city turned slightly yellow in the dying light. Several bronze lamp-posts lined the wide streets, but the fires were not yet lit. It was the end a warm summer day, and New Rome was teaming with life. Families picnicked on the lawn; young couples chatted idly while rowdy children ran around on the grass. Teenagers strolled the town square in shifting clusters, while the bars and restaurants slowly filled with the beginning of the town's surprisingly vibrant night life.

In one of the quieter parts of New Rome, Percy and Annabeth sat across from each other at a long and low wooden table in a 24-hour coffee shop. The table was strewn with a dozen small plates covered in crumbs and half as many mugs. Percy was focusing intently on his laptop, while Annabeth sketched on a notebook somewhat absentmindedly. They worked in a somewhat comfortable silence and listened to mindless acoustic music that played throughout the shop. Every hour or so they breaked for food or to say hello to a new patron or a bad pun of Percy’s invention. For the last while, though, it was just Percy who was working, as Annabeth had finished everything that didn’t require research in the library and Percy was finally getting down the his English essay, which he’d spent the whole day procrastinating on.

"Okay, so I have my antithesis paragraph..."

"Did you add in that quote about Jane Austin?" Annabeth asked, for the third time in a row without even looking up from her notebook.

"That is the next thing on my list, right after alphabetizing my Works Cited and giving Mrs. O'Leary a bath," replied Percy dryly. He had been working on his analysis of modern Greek history essay for three hours, on and off, and he was starting to consider dropping the class just to get out of it. But, when Percy looked up to Annabeth, he instantly felt bad. Annabeth had tons of her own work to do, but she was sitting with him until he finished.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I just can't stand this class. I wouldn't even be passing without you."

Annabeth looked sympathetic. "I get it, Percy. I have my own list of homework I'm not doing until Mrs. O'Leary is bathed."

The part about Mrs. O'Leary was an inside joke between the two of them. Percy had been trying to get access to one of the elephant shower houses for months, so he could finally clean his giant hellhound. This was, of course, not ideal, but the only large enough lakes for her to swim in were reservoirs for drinking. Unsurprisingly, New Rome had rules against allowing flesh-eating monsters into the elephant stables. Even Reyna couldn't help him without support from the senate, which would vote on the issue in six months’ time... nine months ago. Percy and Annabeth liked to joke that Mrs. O'Leary had become a health hazard, and the case had been re-filed as a minor internal threat to the city, to be addressed in the new year. It was such a logistical and bureaucratic headache over such a tedious and simple issue that, among their friend group, it was synonymous with banging your head into a metal pole for sanity.

The waning light was seriously bumming him out because he’d been in the same place, putting off the same essay for almost the entire day. But, he gritted his teeth and thought of how good it would feel to spend the rest of the evening relaxing. Ten more minutes. He just needed to work hard for ten more minutes.

"Sorry, it's just that I wanted us to hang out. I wanted this to be more of a date and less of a babysitting session," Percy said, frustrated.

Annabeth smirked a bit at that. Percy didn't understand how a failed date made her happier, but he was willing to roll with it. He’d learned it was best not to over-analyze Annabeth’s actions sometimes. It usually ended with him freaking out her trying to comfort him about a fight they hadn’t even had. Thankfully, Annabeth was a remarkably vocal girlfriend. Percy knew his best bet was to just ask what was wrong when she looked at him like he was an idiot, and not question her when all was well.

She said, "That's really sweet. Next time you have a lull in homework, we can hang out."

Percy doubted Annabeth ever had a lull in her work. She was taking six classes this semester, and she had a part-time job in the Praetor’s office. One time, Percy had opened her neatly organized day planner, and nearly gotten a headache just from looking at it. There were more than ten different colors and literally no blank spots. He wasn't sure if he should be offended or not by the fact that 'Percy Time' was scheduled in with a bright blue-green block.  

Annabeth’s phone buzzed, and after a moment she asked, “Hey, are you doing anything Saturday night? My dad wanted to know when’s a good time for us to come over for dinner.”

Percy groaned. He said, “You know, reenacting World War II battles with your dad doesn’t count as a date.”

Annabeth threw an eraser at him. She knew he was kidding, but Percy had a bad habit of beating jokes into the ground long after they were dead. After all, he still cracked up about ‘the dam gift shop’ every time he saw Thalia.

Percy smiled wryly at her and said, “Okay, okay. I appreciate that he’s trying to make an effort to build a relationship. Aannnd…Saturday is good. I told Jason I’d IM him about the exchange program, but I should probably do that earlier anyway, with the time change.”

“Okay. I’ll tell dad.”

Percy turned back to his essay and reread his last two paragraphs. He reworded some sentences, fixed a few of his citations, and then decided he would, in fact, add in the quotation about Jane Austin. Then, he highlighted his Works Cited, pressed the ‘Alphabetize’ button, and decided it was good enough for this assignment. Annabeth had characterized it as ‘only eight pages’, which sounded like a paradox to Percy, but he knew she was right. He was just glad to finally get his English Literature requirement out of the way. He’d been putting it off for a few years, and it was starting to approach ridiculousness that he still hadn’t taken the required freshman class. It was a constant headache, though, and he spent more time in the Demigod Writing Center than he did sleeping. For now, though, he was finally, blissfully done.

He sat back and allowed his brain to relax for the first time in several hours. He gazed out the window and admired the city. It was so different from his native New York that he was still reluctant to call it his, even after living in it for three years. Still, though, he’d grown to love this part of California. It was beautiful in a cliché way that reminded him of a dinner in Paris or lunch in Italy.

His gaze drifted down to watch a young couple (though, admittedly, they were several years older than Annabeth and himself) escorting a small girl down the street. They were a man and a woman, presumably the girl’s parents, and they walked slowly in the fading light, allowing the girl to meander down the street as she looked in shop windows. The man stopped at an ice cream stand and bought the little girl a frozen strawberry bowl. New Rome, of course, was full of healthy food, as it supplied mostly officers and demigods in training.

Something about watching them casually strolling through New Rome made Percy feel very safe. After a while, he realized he’d been staring for far too long. He looked over and caught Annabeth watching him. It was obvious from her expression that she knew what he was staring at. He blushed, and ran his hand through his hair to hide him face. Annabeth was fixing him with an odd expression.

Percy said, carefully, “I want to have that someday. I want to show the world to a little someone.” At Annabeth’s expression, he added, “When I’m older, of course. And I have a job, and a little more stability.”

She watched him for another moment, then looked down at the table. There was a light blush on her face too. She said, “So, you’re in it for the long game, huh, Seaweed Brain?”

Percy couldn’t help but smile at the old nickname. No one had called him that in a long time, and it always made him think of his childhood at Camp Halfblood and the stress and exhilaration of traveling the country on a quest. They weren’t good memories, exactly. But, he’d been trying to come to terms with them lately. He was still working on making channeling his anger for his trauma into making the world a better place. But he realized, in that moment, that he really felt it. He wanted to fight for this place that had become his home, and the people who gave it life. He wanted no child to ever have to face what he faced.

“Yeah,” he said casually, still reeling on the inside from his new certainty. “I’m gonna be around for a while.”

Annabeth smiled playfully at him. She said, “Seems like you’ve got a whole life planned out. I’ll be sure to tell your wife.”

Percy returned the playful look. His chest fluttered happily and he felt like he was in on a secret between just the two of them, something even the gods had no power over. He said, “Yeah, you do that, Wisegirl.”

They didn’t outright say anything. They were still young, and figuring things out. And it was nice to just live for a while without worrying about the future. Percy had a hard-earned respect for the power of speaking too soon. When they got up to leave the sun had fully set, and the streets were illuminated under the gas-fire bronze lamps. It took away the golden quality to the light, replacing it with a more grounded blue. The moment was gone. Everything seemed a bit less quintessential. But, they still deposited their plates and mugs in a bin marked for low environmental-impact washing, and their server still waved goodbye when they moved towards the door. The feeling of perfection passed, but Percy still felt safe and home and a newfound sense of fierce protectiveness. He had a new journey ahead of him, and it was not the kind that started with a prophesy and ended with a laurel, but the kind that would never really end.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment or review if you liked it!


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